This lens is one of the oldest measured in our DxOMark database. Announced in 1993, the EF 20-35mm f/3.5-4.5 USM represented a genuinely novel approach for Canon at the time — to offer a quality-built wide-angle zoom at a reasonable price.

The metal housing is indeed well-crafted, but unfortunately this lens has only 5 diaphragm blades, which can have an impact on the bokeh. (FYI, in general even today’s “entry-level” lenses use a 7-blade diaphagm.) Nor was aperture a priority back in the day: the maximum f-numbers for this lens are 3.5 for 20mm and 4.5 for 35mm — quite limited compared to recent lens offerings.

But instead of glorifying youth, let’s look more closely at the image quality measurement results for this older-generation lens….

A DxOMark score of 16 is perfectly respectable for a nearly 20-year-old lens. Note that the bar graphs indicate a high degree of uniformity for this lens, and in fact the quality achieved at 20mm is the same for the other focal lengths.

Strong points

Weak points

Good sharpness

Not a bright lens

Light-weight lens

Very significant vignetting

Good quality-to-price ratio

Respectable standalone scores, then, but now for the crucial question: how well does the Canon perform when compared to a similar but younger lens? Let’s take a look:

Further readings for the Canon EF 20-35mm f/3.5-4.5 USM: an oldie but goodie

To provide photographers with a broader perspective about mobiles, lenses and cameras, here are links to articles, reviews, and analyses of photographic equipment produced by DxOMark, renown websites, magazines or blogs.

The Nikon Nikkor AF-D series

“Nikonists” still highly appreciate the AF-D-series lenses, all of which appeared in 1994. (Nikon usually adds the “D” after the aperture, as in “50mm f/1.4D AF,” rather than “50mm f/1.4 AF-D,” but both refer to the same lenses.)